Men Activities

[rich 0]

I am an A.D in a new assisted living,i need ideas for mens programming can anybody help?

[Guest Pat8231]

Hi Rich, What we did was have a Men's Club meet once a month. We played poker, gin rummy, checkers etc. The AD served "apple cider" or beer. Only a sip of beer and a card game will bring the men together. Hope this helps some, Pat8231 8-)

[gina 2]

Hi Rich,

Here are a few ideas for assisted living mens groups:

Blackjack Nite-

Poker nite-

Small Wood working projects

Car talk -get different car magazines and chat about the new cars vs. the old cars.

Golf- if possible install a small putting green on a portion of your outside area.

Horse shoes- if possible install a horse shoe ring outside or purchase an inside horseshoe game.

Basketball-get a swimming pool basketball hoop game,it works well indoors on the floor.

Horseracing-Get an old racing form from an old race and find out the winners and have residents place bets(with fake money) then payout fake money to the winners.

Bowling-Get a bowling set(pins and ball) and set at the end of a hallway in the facility,then have a men against women bowling game,from the other end of the hallway.

Shopping trip-Take the men out to Walmart or other store to get toletries and other private stuff.

Chess club-

Checkers club-

Exercise club-Get some small weights(2-5 lbs) and let men work out

Dominoes club-

Yahtzee Club-

[Miguel 4]

Well what I do is build model airplanes and cars 1:1 with my male residents, you have to watch the glue, We also do wood working projects.

 

Other ideas include...

Sports Trivia

Mens Luncheon

Beer and Chips (check resident diet order)

Watch sports and discuss them.

 

Hope this helps.. ~`Miguel`~

[Pennie 26]

Men are a challenge... Dominoes was always a hit with our men residents, Tournaments, playoffs, award ceremonies, write up in the news etc... our men residents loved their dominoes with the same passion as Bingo for the ladies... it may be the competition, some of our tourny's were fierce competition... this might be the avenue to bring the men out of their rooms, another spark I found was they like to talk about the passed, we had volunteer high shool students start a journal, a collection of stories from the passed... the war, the depression, We had it informally published when it was finished and we made several copies available for the lobby, I think it was a hit with the students just as much as the residents... then came volume II.. ;-)

 

I noticed that you posted this in the 1 on 1 Activity forum are you looking for individual activities?

[mandamia 0]

:hammer: At my assisted living home, the men are out numbered 6 to 1. I have scheduled men's breakfast for them once a month. Find a male volunteer that would enjoy a men’s discussion group. Home depot has very inexpensive craft projects it uses for the kids workshop. They are very nice and the male residents really enjoy the hands on. I am always looking for other ideas as well please keep them coming.

[MaryADC 0]

I purchased a Hula Hoop, short Fishing Rod & Reel, plastic fish & stick on magnets. I placed the magnets at the fishes mouth and a larger metal weight that the magnet would cling to at the end of the fishing rod. I made sure the fish line was cut to be not too long. The Hula hoop was secured to the floor with Oh my! I can't think what you call it but it's white and sticky on both sides you can by it in the craft department at Walmart and it comes in a roll or strips. The plastic fish were placed in the middle of the Hula hoop and the residents sat in a circle and took turns fishing. After our fishing trip we had bowls of chocolate pudding with gummy worms sticking out & a nice cool drink. Blessings, Mary

[gina 2]

Hi Mary,

I have tried this activity too,though I put the fishes in a large metal tub(like the old washing tubs) and put water in it so that the fish float and look pretty real.

The men and women love it!

Good Idea!

;-) gina

[gina 2]

Hi All,

With so many of us having a limited budget, I think these Birdhouses are great!!!

 

You will need:

1 empty, clean milk carton(1/2 gallon size)for each resident

paints

popsicle sticks

glue

small wooden dowel

birdseed

wire hanger

 

Directions:

Cut openings on each side of the milk carton.

Paint the milk cartons and let dry.Then glue the popsicle sticks on top of the

milk carton like shingles,one by one.paint if you like.let dry.For the perch,make a

small hole under the openings and slip a wooden dowel through the hole.

Open up the wire hanger and slip through the top of the milkcarton so that you can hang your birdhouse up.

Fill the bottom of the birdhouse with birdseed and put out in a nice spot for your residents to watch the birds.

 

:-D gina

[Guest Guest_Monique]

Hi Rich! :-P I'm also an AD at an assisted living home but have the challenge of those specifically with Alzheimer's and dementia. i've managed to hold a weekly men's club where we have various activities that cater to their interests such as watching an old boxing match on video, painting model planes, trains, cars, having coffee klatch, reminiscing about past experiences about fishing and their hobbies, playing games of checkers, chess and simple card games. Since they all ahve a form of dementia, their attention span is short so I limit men's club to 30 minutes. Also, some of the men take trips to Home Depot or Loew's with our maintenance technician as a mini field trip. The biggest treat they ever got was a trip to the Yankee Stadium to watch a ballgame!

 

I hope this helps!

[astizzle 0]

The men in my facility love poker night. Also, they make non alcoholic beer, so you could serve pretzels and "beer" and it would be just like they were used to. We also have have football parties during football season, and you could use the non-alcoholic beer. Our men are outnumbered by the women, which is not unusual, so it is hard to plan for them. Also, the S&S Worldwide catalog has a free Crafts for Men and Boys insert that you could order that has other ideas in it. Good luck!

[dawn 0]

For mens activities you can have a weekly sports talk with a short film on a sport player for what sport he played in ie tiger woods, they realy enjoy when you can get other staff to help esp men. Also a wood work shop is also very good.

[Bobbie 0]

Mens activities can be as diverse as you wish. Depending upon abilities of the resident you can change or adapt any activities and just rename it. Cars, Plants, Magazines,....Bird watching and not just the feathered variety are all excellent past times for most men including watching favorite sports, fishing and washing cars.

[mashonda 0]

I also have a difficult time getting the men at my facility to participate in group activities. I have tried to have card socials, superbowl parties, world series parties, car shows, and we have even tried to put together model cars. They are just not motivated and we are having a difficult time getting the men involved. We have even tried to get men from local organizations to come in and perform activities. By the way, my staff is all female.

[lllucas 0]

Hi, Everybody!

 

I highly recommend that you provide the men with a once-a-month home cooked breakfast. Nothing brings them together like food. The activity is "men only." You personally (or with the assistance of your volunteers) cook their meal to order. Try fried eggs, sausage links and fried potatoes. They will love you for it. It seems that most of the elderly are big breakfast eaters. This will remind them of those early mornings at home. It also provides a personal touch.

 

Not only is this a good activity for the men...you may have to do it for the women, too. I've done it for both and even once for the staff. Great results every time.

 

By the way, let them SEE you cooking their breakfast.

 

Best wishes,

 

Linda Lucas, AD ;-)

[shackled20 0]

All these are awesome ideas, I think I must just impliment a few of these in my facility. I just started working in the ALF field and have had the same problem with my guys. I have planned a trip to take the guys to Hooters to watch football on a Sunday real soon. :-D That might bring some involvment.

[Crysty 0]

I work at a Veterans Home and our biggest hit for the men is Happy Hour. We bring a bar on wheels down to the dining room, complete with disco lights and music from the World War 2 era. We serve non-alcoholic beer, virgin bloody marys and shirley temples for the ladies. We also have snacks such as: pretzels, cheese and crackers and popcorn. This tends to be a favorite of the family members too.

[Guest Guest_Kris]

:-D One thing I have recently tried and was extremely happy with was a book that I recently ordered from S&S (or Nasco) called "Gentleman's Gatherings." It's a wonderful resource! It has topics specially designed with the men in mind and then supports the topic with questions, follow-up crafts, and activities. I highly recommend it because my "guys" are a difficult group to engage and loved it! Laughs and a lot of reminicing took place. Hope this helps.

[Matt 0]

Hello,

 

This is my second post, and I am a student, so here's some of my ideas:

 

Fishing -- either at the home, or you can do an outing where you actually go to a doc and you fish.

 

Woodworking

 

Soccer -- this would be a great intergenerational! You can have your residents go to a local kids soccer club, that would really be nice.

 

Cards and Beer

 

A pub night.

 

Stanly cup, Olympics, Grey Cup, World Cup, big sports events.

 

Cars

 

Men's Workshop -- great discussion goup, or one to one.

 

Have a Gentlemen's Supper, a great event for the guys to get together and drink and be merry.

 

I hope that this helps,

 

Matt :-D

[bonnieb 0]

Hi Rich, I"m an ADA in a nursing home and we have 20-25 men all on different levels. We have a men's group once a month. It hard to find things that men will participate in. But I have found a couple things they really enjoyed. Building bird houses and taking old telephones apart to see what caused them to work or quiet working.

[StacieO 0]

We have a small group of men (3 - 5) who play a dice game called "6,5,4". Really simple, only need five dice & a cup to shake them in & a table for them to sit around. They shake the dice & must get a 6, 5, & then a 4 (in that order) w/in 3 shakes. If they get a 6, 5, or a 4, they leave those dice out & keep shaking the others. The remaining 2 dice are the "points" they get. They play for a determined length of time or for however many rounds & the player w/ the most points is deamed the winner. If they get the 6,5,4 right away, they can choose to keep shaking for more points or pass it to the next player, remember, only 3 shakes allowed. This is something that they can do on their own or w/ a volunteer or staff person. It's familiar to them, as many of them shook dice when they went for afternoon coffee in our rural, local cafe. Simple game, simple rules & they can do it on their own! We also have women that enjoy this game as well - but it works good for the men who don't want to have it known that they might actually participate in a GROUP activity!

Stacie :-D

[ohiochrissy 0]

Hi, the men at my facility love the mens movie night, the women make pizza in the cooking club that day, and @ night the men eat it while watching old movies of their chocie, and drink near beer. Let me tell you they love it. ;-)

[Wgtkss 0]

While right know we have been going for monthly(at least) van rides. With no ladies but myself. They seem to enjoy this. While we wre out we stop by the local ice cream shop and get shakes or sundaes. When we are out driving I leave it up to them where they want to go. We have went to the park, past their home, out to look at this corn or just around towm to see the changes.

Good luck Kris

[patalie88 0]

Hello all

I am looking for some ideas for a men's group. My guys are higher functioning ambulatory and w/c. They gather together 2-4 times per month. They love the social food thing but I am looking for more creative ideas. We are putting together a car show for the fall. I need more ideas for everyday ideas.

Thanks!!!

[wonytineres 0]

Have you tried service projects? Our men's group does one service project each month. We have painted birdhouses for a local park, stained banks which were donated to a local summer school's math class, made dog biscuits for the Humane Society, assembled welcome bags for the local Cub Scout summer camp. We also do a monthly men's only breakfast outing which is very popular. Good luck!